EEVBlog #1159 Dave Jones reviews the DM42

[BobVA]

Quote:P.S. I had to create a new account here, no idea what happened to my old account login.

Welcome home, mate! Consider using the DM-42 for your daily driver. Just think of the gravitas that brandishing an RPN calculator could add to your debunking videos!

Bob

PS I'm holding you fully responsible for "bobby dazzler" having crept into my partner's vocabulary. Seems like she used it at least once a week, much to the bafflement of her co-workers :-)

[Eddie W. Shore]

(12-19-2018 02:24 PM)burkhard Wrote:  

(12-19-2018 06:49 AM)Tugdual Wrote:  Interesting comment from Dave on the keyboard construction. I somehow believe that the original HPs had a hinge on each key while on the dm42 it is a plastic bloc that is bent. To me that is a no go especially for 200€ since I have no faith in the durability of this solution (also for that price I would rather go for a 150€ Prime with color touch screen and a lot more features).
Anybody knows more on this ?

Apples and Oranges concerning the Prime v. DM42.
The Prime is really targeted to modern students and Millennials who need a touch screen, things flashy to keep their attention, and a "less confusing" algebraic entry system. Some rudimentary RPN capability is tossed on as an afterthought to try to placate the old guys whose earlier machines have worn out. I don't blame HP for making those design choices... that is where market opportunity lies for a big company, even a tiny arm of a big company.

The DM42 is (almost) a flash back in time with the exception of a very nice (albeit B&W) screen that wasn't available 30 years ago. But it's mostly for old school fans, a niche market.

If you like the old way of doing things, go with the DM42. If you are a frappuccino-sipping, selfie-snapping Millennial, the Prime might be a better fit.

Excuse me, I am a fan of both the HP 42 (and other RPN calculators) and I also use the HP Prime a lot. I'm 41 and have a Masters Degree in Mathematics, not just some "frappucino-sipping, self-snapping" distracted misguided person from the younger generation. I don't know what gave you the idea to generalize entire generations.

[Jlouis]

Hi Eddie

I think he meant that the newest generation would prefer a calculator with touch screen and color like a smartphone and us old timers would prefer one like an old friend, full RPN HP 42s.

But I agree with you, although I'm only a math curious compared to you, I also like both.

Merry Christmas!

JL

[EEVblog]

(12-24-2018 07:27 AM)ijabbott Wrote:  OFF TOPIC: I still feel sorry for that poor old Casio SL-800 that Dave teared down on one of his videos. Interesting, but painful to watch the destruction of such a rare item.

Only way to do it unfortunately

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwo7sSrSSW4

[EEVblog]

(12-24-2018 11:42 AM)pier4r Wrote:  First thanks that you took the time to come here and comment!
Second. 14k videos? Wow. (I mean everything north of 100 videos for me is wow, unless there is no information in them)

1400, not 14,000. Over 1800 videos if you count both channels.

Quote:Then what you did was already golden. With such amount of videos either you are a superhuman or there is no time to prepare if you want to pursue interests as well. Congratulations for the persistence!

It's been my full time job for almost 8 years now.

[Paul Dale]

(12-24-2018 02:49 AM)EEVblog Wrote:  Lats time I owned a HP42S was 2006 when I posted teardown photos on this forum, and even then, I rarely used it.

I should send you down a WP 34S at some point

Pauli

[ijabbott]

(12-26-2018 03:46 AM)Paul Dale Wrote:  

(12-24-2018 02:49 AM)EEVblog Wrote:  Lats time I owned a HP42S was 2006 when I posted teardown photos on this forum, and even then, I rarely used it.

I should send you down a WP 34S at some point

Pauli

Only if he promises to convert it himself!

[andylithia]

(12-24-2018 05:25 PM)BobVA Wrote:  ...

PS I'm holding you fully responsible for "bobby dazzler" having crept into my partner's vocabulary. Seems like she used it at least once a week, much to the bafflement of her co-workers :-)

Same, as well as "bob's your uncle" and many others. Having watched hundreds of his videos, I find myself begin to use these *unusual* expressions automatically. ;-D

[Ángel Martin]

(12-18-2018 12:07 AM)ijabbott Wrote:  He should have RTFM!

Totally agree, he's missing on all the new stuff and coming to wrong conclusions.

ÁM

[SammysHP]

If we provide him the necessary information and the most important features, he might make a quick follow up video.

[jebem]

Dave Jones electronics background and practical experience is obvious to anyone in minimal knowledge in the field.
His videos shows this "bias" in the way Dave explore and comment his mailbag, and his main audience are electronics engineers sharing the same view (like myself).

An calculator, like any other electronic artifact, has many ways to look at it.
As for the DM 42 "review", I was not expecting an detailed or even a summary analysis of its operating system and functions. Clearly Dave's goal is not going in that direction, as he already explained in his previous post.

As such, I enjoyed Dave's take on the DM 42, like I do (and learn) from other Dave's videos.

Clearly there is plenty of space for improvement on the DM-42 start guide, be it a digital file or a had copy.
If one was provided and working as it should, perhaps Dave's comments would be more oriented to the experts expectations.

This is my 2 cents of course.

[Zaphod]

Would be nice with a spiral bound mini book included (like the original voyager books)

Did I say that out loud

[berndpr]

Hello!

It was Daves youtube video, which shows me the new DM42 first and I like it.

It shows a "normal" engineer user discovering a new calculator and its relation to an old one. It's entertaining.

After this I have looked at the HP expert Logan and his videos. And I like them too, because it shows the differences. It's informative.

But EEVBLOG was the start of thinking about the DM42 and I have ordered it yesterday.

I'm not HP or RPN fanboy (but a Forth programmer), so I doesn't know anything about the HP42S, but I will try it. (Yes, I have some HP calculators, like HP-35S, HP-48, HP-49 and HP-50, but many from Casio, Sharp and TI too).

I hope the device is better than the DM-15, which has much too small button text, especially the blue (g button) one. It is Daves vblog again, which gives me much confidence to do the right thing with the money.

So I have to say "Thank you, Dave and Logan"
And don't stop to make your videos in your kind of way.

Bernd

[Eddie W. Shore]

I ordered a DM42 today; can't wait to get it delivered.

[Logan]

Nice! Are you going to wait until your birthday to open it?

[boessu]

(01-17-2019 09:07 PM)berndpr Wrote:  I'm not HP or RPN fanboy (but a Forth programmer), so I doesn't know anything about the HP42S, but I will try it. (Yes, I have some HP calculators, like HP-35S, HP-48, HP-49 and HP-50, but many from Casio, Sharp and TI too).

I hope you like the classical RPN-style of HP-35S / DM15. The others you have do work with the so-called Entry RPN, which is a bit different. I'm not sure if you've expected the classical RPN for a calculator which costs around 200 bucks nowadays.
Quite frankly the pure functionality of the DM42 is not the reason why I bought one.

(01-17-2019 09:07 PM)berndpr Wrote:  I hope the device is better than the DM-15, which has much too small button text, especially the blue (g button) one. It is Daves vblog again, which gives me much confidence to do the right thing with the money.

The DM-15 is a gimmick. Even if it is usable, it's more something for the ye ol' HP lovers who like to have always a voyager style calculator with them. Maybe a DM15L would be the better bet if you like to use it often and more seriously.

The DM42 is clearly a craftmans work. It has visible screws, feels heavy, cold and solid in your hand and you can disassemble it easily completely. The high quality circuit board with concrete components on it you'll find behind the well massive metal plate speaks for itself. It's really like the electronics from the past where you've expected that it is possible to disassemble and reassemble it quickly and several times without breaking them. Lasting for a long time.
The display and the flash storage makes it to one of the best available classical (!) RPN calculators, if not the best.
I'm pretty sure a lot of engineers will buy that one just because of the way it is build.
But that's it. That is it what makes them special. There is no big company behind it and I'm pretty sure if the enthusiasts behind all of that will loose their interests, it will fade out. Let's just hope it's not anytime soon. On the other side, speaking of HP, we know that could also happen with big brands.

Most calculator users won't buy that one. You would get easily a better one (feature-wise) at Walmart or Amazon for less money. Or they just use their Smartphone, as most will do this time.

For me it's a bit like buying a Casio G-Shock vs. buying a Rolex.

[Gerson W. Barbosa]

(12-19-2018 01:34 AM)Gerson W. Barbosa Wrote:  

Code:


00 { 103-Byte Prgm }
01▸LBL "RFC"
02 STO 03
03 XEQ 01
04 STO 05
05 +/-
06 SIGN
07 RCL 03
08 RCL+ ST Y
09 Y↑X
10 STO 02
11 LASTX
12 XEQ 01
13 STO 06
14 CLX
15 STO 01
16 RCL 03
17 STO+ ST X
18 ENTER
19 XEQ 01
20 RCL- 02
21 X<>Y
22 1
23 +
24 XEQ 01
25 STO 04
26▸LBL 00
27 RCL+ 01
28 RCL× 02
29 RCL 05
30 1/X
31 STO+ ST T
32 X<> ST L
33 X↑2
34 X<>Y
35 ÷
36 STO 01
37 X<> 05
38 X<> 06
39 STO 05
40 STO- 06
41 X<> 04
42 X<>Y
43 STO- ST Y
44 STO 04
45 DSE 03
46 GTO 00
47 RCL+ 01
48 1/X
49 RCL+ ST Z
50 RTN
51▸LBL 01
52 0.5
53 ASINH
54 ×
55 E↑X-1
56 5
57 SQRT
58 ÷
59 NOT
60 +/-
61 END

You don’t need to know what this program does to notice that at least one step and one byte can be easily saved by just taking a look at it.

No, not left out on purpose to see who’s paying attention, just a silly lack of attention :-)